So what position do you want the Texans to take in the first round of Thursday’s draft, and what player would you like for them to target?

I’ve done four mock drafts for Chron.com. My official mock draft runs Thursday in the Chronicle and on UltimateTexans.com.

I’ve done so many mock drafts around the country I can’t keep up.

Who I have the Texans selecting with the 26th pick in the first round depends on who’s available. I think they’ll take the highest-rated player on their board who fills a need position, as they do every year.

For instance, in mock drafts for The Sporting News and Pro Football Weekly last week, I had the Texans taking Georgia guard/tackle Cordy Glenn. I don’t think he’ll be available, and those are the only two mocks I’ve done in which he was available.

Here’s why I took Glenn. The Texans are desperate for depth in the offensive line. And I do mean desperate. They have right tackle Rashad Butler with four career starts and coming off injured reserve. They have right guard Antoine Caldwell with 13 starts and coming off a season in which he played with a high-ankle sprain.

At 6-foot-6, 345, Glenn is much heavier than the Texans like their offensive linemen to be, but he ran a 5.09 at the combine, which is fantastic for a lineman his size. He’s a four-year starter. He started at tackle and guard. Most teams see him as a right tackle who’s better suited for right guard.

The reason I took Glenn in those mocks is because the scouting reports say he’s quick enough to get on the second level and good at walling defenders rather than trying to pancake them. That’s what the Texans like.

I don’t think the Texans will take an offensive lineman in the first round unless one they have ranked higher drops to 26. I think there’s a good chance they could select an outside linebacker who can rush the quarterback.

Because Wade Phillips wants three outside linebackers who can rush the quarterback, they want to hit another home run like the did with Brooks Reed in the second round last year. They’re looking for a defensive end who can make the same smooth transition Reed did as a rookie.

In my most recent mock draft for UltimateTexans.com (see above) I have them taking USC defensive end Nick Perry, who led the Pac-12 in sacks as a junior. If Illinois’ Whitney Mercilus, who had 16 sacks and nine forced fumbles as a junior, is still on the board, I’d have him going to the Texans.

Truthfully, I’d just like to get the position right.

I’m sure a lot of fans will be disappointed if they don’t take a receiver in the first round. They need a receiver, but this is an extremely deep draft for receivers. That means if you have another need, you might fill it in the first round and get the receiver in the second or third round.

If they do surprise me and take a receiver in the first round, I think it would be Georgia Tech’s Stephen Hill or Baylor’s Kendall Wright, but I still think they’ll go for another position and get a receiver in the second or third round.

The Texans have eight picks going into the draft. General manager Rick Smith hasn’t been shy about making draft-day trades, moving up last year to get cornerback Brandon Harris in the second round. He’s also moved down to acquire extra picks.

I think the Texans will stay at 26, but it won’t surprise me if they move down. I don’t see Smith trading up.

By the way, I’m in New York covering the draft. I’ve got a story for Wednesday on quarterback Andrew Luck and his father, Oliver Luck, a quarterback drafted in the second round by the Oilers in 1982.

On Thursday, I’ll have a story on Robert Griffin III and Ryan Tannehill and how far they’ve come since Tannehill outplayed Griffin last season when the Aggies defeated the Bears.

I’ll do a chat on Thursday at 11:30. I’ll be tweeting through the draft. I return to Houston on Friday to cover the last two days at Reliant Stadium.